world_war_2wikiaorg-20200214-history
M1928 Thompson
The Thompson Submachine Gun, colloquially known as the Tommy Gun, Trench Broom and the Chicago Typewriter, attributed to its early use by gangsters, was a submachine gun used by the United States Military during World War II. The Thompson M1921 was a popular submachine gun that became famous during prohibition, when gangsters used it because of the high volume of automatic fire it made available from such a compact firearm, and because it could be obtained legally. Designed during World War I by General John T. Thompson, the Tommy Gun was available in the .45 Caliber ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol) cartridges and the 9mm. The M1926 Thompson was put up for consideration for service with the U.S. Military, but with the M1918 BAR now in service, it was rejected. The Thompson M1928's design was taken from the M1921 and equipped with an actuator in order to decrease its rate of fire, making it eligible for service with the U.S. Navy. It saw use by the United States Army, United States Marine Corps & Navy, British Commonwealth Forces and the Red Army throughout World War II in the form of the M1928, M1928A1, M1 and M1A1 Thompson variants. The means of operation is direct blow-back, although early models made use of the Blish lock, turning the mechanism into a delayed blow-back system. However, due to simplification in the M1 and M1A1 Thompson, this system was replaced with a much more simple blowback system. History & Variants M1928A1 Thompson The first variant of the Thompson submachine gun to be employed by the United States Armed Forces, the M1928 saw prominent use with the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and in lesser numbers with the Army. Distinguished from the simplified M1/M1A1 Thompson, the M1928 possessed a Cutts compensator, an early muzzle break which redirected gas flow in order to decrease muzzle climb, cooling fins on the barrel to decrease the chances of overheating, its charging handle on the top of the weapon with its center carved out for sights, and a rectangular rear sight fixture rather than a triangular one. As an updated version of the M1921 Thompson, it had a modified actuator in its receiver in order to decrease its rate of fire, making it eligible for service with the U.S. Navy. The earlier M1928's also had wooden foregrips, giving the soldier added stability. Over 10,000 of these updated Thompsons were sold to the U.S. Naval Department in the 1930's, becoming its exclusive service submachine gun. It was produced by Colt Firearms Manufacturing Co. until the beginning of World War II. Even though these weapons were capable of utilizing 50- and 100- round drum magazines, combat Marines typically chose 20- and 30-round box magazines due to the unreliability and bulkiness of the drum magazines. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and America's lack of military hardware apparent, the mass production of defense implements went underway. This included the M1928, which was updated into the M1928A1. The A1 variant lacked a foregrip and was produced by Auto-Ordnance and Savage Arms until the advent of the M1 Thompson. Most famously used by the United States Marine Corps, as part of the Naval Department it partook in the stocks of M1928's acquired by the Navy in the 1930's. Used in the Pacific as an alternative for the heavy M1918 BAR, it was commonly used in the jungles of Central Pacific islands during combat patrols. Although it was heavy at almost 5 kilograms, over 550,000 of this particular variant were produced. They were also in use by Australians and Chinese in the PTO, with controlled amounts of the weapons provided to the Soviet Union along with M3 Stuart Tanks as crew weapons. However, these weapons saw little use as the 7.62mm pistol round was the prominent submachine gun caliber on the Eastern Front, as opposed to the Thompson's .45 ACP. In addition, it saw use by British and Canadian Commandos - somewhat famously by the No. 1 Commando, who feature the M1928 on their unit patch. Even though amounts of M1928A1's were available to the U.S. Army, in 1942, it was replaced by the M1 due to its complexity and the need for a simplification in manufacturing. M1/A1 Thompson The M1 Thompson, a simplification of the M1928A1 Thompson for mass production, saw prominent service with the United States and British militaries during the Second World War, was approved in April of 1942, becoming the standard issue submachine gun in the United States Army, while the M1928A1 remained the primary variant in use by the Marine Corps. In order to make the production process of the Thompson as simple as possible, the Blick Lock system was scrapped, replaced with a simple blowback system. Also, the M1928A1's Cutts compensator and barrel cooling fins were removed, and it was manufactured to utilize the far more cheap and reliable box magazines rather than the drum magazines of the M1928. First issued in 1943, the M1 saw large scale use by the U.S. Army in both the European and Pacific Theater of Operations. Amongst the M1A1 Carbine and the later M3 "Grease Gun", the Thompson did not have to be disassembled during paratroop operations, making it popular for the men of the 101st, 82nd and 17th Airborne Divisions. The M1 and M1A1 Thompsons transcended rank in the Army. While in the Marine Corps, supplies of submachine guns were low and typically exclusive to officers and NCO's, enlisted and officers alike used the M1 Thompsons, their supplies relatively plentiful. Further, in October of 1942, the M1 was updated into the M1A1, replacing its multi-piece firing pin with a simplified version, allowing for a production time half that of their M1928A1 cousins. The last orders for M1A1 Thompsons would be placed in February of 1944, replaced by the M3. By 1944, the M1A1 had a unit cost of $45, while the M3 had a unit cost of about $20. Post-World War II After the end of the Second World War, the Thompson saw service in Korea, as well as limited action in Vietnam, now replaced fully by the new M14 battle rifles and M16A1 assault rifles, produced by Colt. Domestically, it continued to see use by law enforcement, most prominently by the FBI, until 1976 when it was declared obsolete, and all Thompsons in government possession were destroyed, except for a few token museum pieces and training models. It was retired officially with the U.S. Military in 1971. Owing to both its gangster and WWII connections, Thompsons are highly sought after collector's items. An original 1928 gun in working condition is valued at $15,000. Semi-auto replicas are currently produced by the Auto-Ordnance, which is operated as a division of Kahr firearms. References Category:Submachine Gun Category:US Weapons Category:Guns